The Association is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving history, protecting nature and open space, and creating tourism destinations in the I&M Canal National Heritage Corridor. The Association also manages the Gaylord Building, a National Trust Historic Site, in Lockport, Illinois. One of the oldest industrial buildings in the I&M Canal National Heritage Corridor, the 1838 Gaylord Building is a model of adaptive reuse, featuring the Public Landing restaurant, canal exhibits and more. More than 150 years ago, the Gaylord Building played a major role in creation of the Illinois & Michigan Canal, the final link in America’s great water highway system of the 19th century. The Building also serves as a base for the Lockport Sleepers Vintage Base Ball Club, composed of living historians who interpret the national pastime as it was played in the late 1850s.
The association offers lectures and educational and recreational events; the building offers exhibits, tours, occasional living history events, and educational and recreational programs.